Barefoot Truth Digs Bella Terra

Pittsfield native Andy Wrba, bassist for Barefoot Truth—the Connecticut-based, jamtastic indie-roots-rock quintet that has become an underground success to the tune of 7 million spins on Pandora Radio—dishes on the band’s upcoming performance at the Bella Terra Festival at Gardner’s Field in Stephentown, N.Y., on Friday, August 20.

 

The second annual grassroots celebration of music, arts, wellness, and good vibes begins tonight and runs through Sunday, August 21.

 

Barefoot Truth has been pretty busy lately—why do Bella Terra?
We were asked to play last year, but had a scheduling conflict and were bummed that we couldn’t. This year, we’re thrilled. There’s a great lineup of musicians, artists—even glassblowers—to keep people entertained the whole time they’re there. It certainly has all the necessary ingredients for a good time.

 

 

It’s an advantage for us that a lot of them are just gatherings of happy people and good music, and everyone seems to have a lot of fun. Festivals are always a good time because there are always supportive, positive people there.

 

 

[My bandmates] love coming up to the Berkshires to play at Mission Bar + Tapas or just to come up and hang out. I hope we can help this festival grow—it’s great for the area.

 

 

[Pittsfield-based artist] Mike Boroniec [right] and I were just talking about that—we hope it’s not just a trend. We have a great response, with a lot of people coming from outside of the area. I think it has the ability to be sustainable, it’s just a matter of time…

 

 

If [Boroniec] is willing and able, he’s certainly welcome—that would be cool to have him paint. (Last year he painted during John Medeski and this year maybe for Soulive.) He says that he has his colors, but the music that he hears drives the direction of the art.

 

A great band, Rubblebucket, of Brooklyn, is playing Thursday, and we’ve crossed paths with them before. Also, the McLovins, playing Friday afternoon. Do you know about them? They’re three guys from Connecticut and I think they average about sixteen-years-old in age; their musicianship is phenomenal, they can seriously jam! We’re also good friends with Billy Keane, who is playing Saturday [with the Misdemeanor Outlaws]. [See the full Bella Terra schedule]

I play at Mission on Monday nights as the Wrba/Weiss Quartet with saxophone player Noah Weiss and other musicians we bring in. We started that about two months ago and we have a pretty good scene.

 

I’m playing at Mission with [Barefoot Truth] lead singer Will Evans as a duo, but we’ll feature all Barefoot music, it’s just a different kind of show.

 

 

We have a busy fall lineup: a semi-national tour—we’re going out to Chicago, Nashville, and everywhere in between. We’re headlining a show at Pearl Street in Northampton on October 1 and we’ll be in Pittsfield on Thanksgiving weekend, so be in touch for that. And we’re working on a new album in the studio, which we hope to release next spring.

 

I’m just excited that I have a chance to be part of a band that has such a positive message, and to bring that message back home. It’s a beautiful thing.